---
title: "Self-Service Help Center Software | ThriveDesk"
canonical: "https://www.thrivedesk.com/use-cases/self-service-help-center/"
author: ThriveDesk
description: "Build a self-service help center on your own domain with AI search, public and private docs, and an AI agent that answers from your articles in chat."
categories: [page]
---

# A self-service help center that answers customers 24/7

Write articles once in a Notion-style editor and publish them on your own domain. AI search and the chat agent answer from them, so fewer questions turn into tickets.

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Powering support for growing teams

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## Self-service in numbers

A self-service help center is a library of articles where customers find answers on their own. ThriveDesk’s help center runs on your domain with your branding, has AI search and public or private docs, and Neo uses the same articles to answer questions in chat and email.

answers without a ticket

24/7

of conversations Neo resolves on its own

65%

editor for public and private docs

1

The problem

## Customers try to help themselves, then give up

Most customers look for an answer before they contact you. When the article is buried in a PDF, an old wiki or a search that needs the exact wording, they email instead, and an agent pastes a link the customer never found.

-   81% of customers try to solve a problem themselves before they contact a person. Harvard Business Review, 2017

-   14% of service issues are fully resolved through self-service. Gartner, 2019

## What goes into your help center

Customers and Neo read the same content: articles you write, pages you already publish and answers your team has given before.

-   ### Articles and categories

    Write in a Notion-style editor with toggles and numbered steps, and nest categories in sub-folders.

-   ### Images, video and files

    The media manager keeps screenshots and walkthrough videos in one library you can embed anywhere.

-   ### Articles from your old help desk

    We migrate your knowledge base from Intercom, Zendesk, Help Scout and others, so you don’t start from zero.

-   ### Your website pages

    Point Neo at your pricing, policy and product pages, and it answers from what you already publish.

-   ### Question and answer pairs

    Write short answers by hand for the rules and exceptions that don’t need a full article.

-   ### Past conversations

    Neo learns from how your team has answered before, so its replies sound like yours.

## Three ways support teams use a self-service help center

The same library of articles does different jobs as your product and customer base grow.

-   ### Answering how-to questions

    Before

    A customer emails, an agent finds the article and pastes the link.

    With ThriveDesk

    The customer searches or asks Neo and gets the article straight away.

-   ### Launching a feature

    Before

    Tickets spike the week it ships while the docs catch up.

    With ThriveDesk

    The guide goes live with the launch, and Neo answers from it within seconds.

-   ### Onboarding new customers

    Before

    Every new account asks the same setup questions.

    With ThriveDesk

    Getting-started articles sit inside your app through the embeddable widget.

## On your domain, in your branding

The help center looks like part of your product, and you decide who reads what.

-   ### Your own domain

    Host the help center on a domain or sub-folder you choose.

-   ### Your branding

    Match your logo, colors and layout.

-   ### Public and private docs

    Publish each doc for customers or keep it for your team.

-   ### Search engines and AI answers

    Articles are set up to rank in Google and to be quoted in AI-generated answers.

-   ### Version history

    Autosave keeps every draft, and you can roll back any article.

-   ### Dark mode

    The help center follows each reader’s system setting.

## Two places customers find your answers

Publish an article once and it shows up in your help center and inside your product.

### Help center

A public knowledge base with your own branding, domain and design.

### Embeddable widget

Serve your help articles inside your app, where customers get stuck.

## The cost of answering what the docs already say

A worked example with round numbers. Swap in your own.

If the help center and Neo answer half of those questions, your team gets 15 hours a month back for the tickets that need a person.

Tickets a month

1,000

Share that are how-to questions

30%

Minutes an agent spends on each

6

Agent hours a month

30

Cost at $25 an hour

$750/mo

## What changes after you launch

Most of the difference shows up in the queue.

-   Fewer how-to tickets, because customers find the article in search, in the widget or through Neo.
-   Agents link one article instead of rewriting the same answer.
-   An updated article changes Neo’s answers too, with nothing to retrain.
-   New customers get through setup with the getting-started docs inside your app.
-   Your team spends the time on the tickets that need a person.

Setup

## Launch your help center in five steps

Start with the 10 to 20 questions your team answers every week.

1.  01

    ### Pick your top questions

    Look through the inbox for the questions that come up every week.

2.  02

    ### Write or migrate the articles

    Write them in the editor, or let us move your articles from your current help desk.

3.  03

    ### Brand it and add your domain

    Set your logo and colors, and point your domain or sub-folder at the help center.

4.  04

    ### Add the widget and turn on Neo

    Embed the widget in your app and site. Neo starts answering from your articles.

5.  05

    ### Keep articles current

    When a ticket shows a gap, update the article. Neo uses the new version within seconds.

Before and after

## What changes with ThriveDesk

| When | Without ThriveDesk | With ThriveDesk |
| --- | --- | --- |
| How-to question | Emails support | Finds the article or asks Neo |
| Question worded differently from the article | Search finds nothing, so they email | AI search finds the right article |
| Feature launch week | Tickets spike while the docs catch up | The guide goes live with the feature |
| An article goes out of date | Edited in three places | Updated once, used in chat too |
| Question at 2am | Waits until morning | Answered right away |
| Internal-only process | A shared doc or wiki | A private doc in the same help center |
| Moving from another help desk | Copy and paste every article | We migrate your articles for you |

[Start free trial](https://app.thrivedesk.com/auth/register) [See pricing](https://www.thrivedesk.com/pricing/)

Testimonials

![weDevs logo](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/wedevs-logo-colored.CZ1zsiJa.svg)

> “ ThriveDesk is really easy to use while being super effective. I can say without a doubt that ThriveDesk is the best live chat software for small businesses. ”

 ![Nizam Uddin](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/nizam.B0IpOeXM.jpg)Nizam Uddin CEO, weDevs

![Brainstorm Force logo](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/surecart-logo.CyVpCQv8.svg)

> “ The ThriveDesk team truly exceeded expectations with their exceptional work on integrating SureCart. Their dedication resulted in a powerful integration that surpassed all our requirements. ”

 ![Sujay Pawar](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/sujay-pawar.S_zk3sed.jpg)Sujay Pawar CEO, Brainstorm Force

![Themefisher logo](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/themefisher-logo.iZiIHaeu.svg)

> “ As our business and list of clients grew, user classification data became vital for us. We needed to serve our premium customers first to keep our business running. ”

 ![Mehedi Hasan](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/mehedi.CxiVuND-.jpg)Mehedi Hasan CEO, Themefisher

![Themesgrove logo](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/tg_logo.mI64JEaF.png)

> “ At some point, we were paying top dollar yet not all our support requirements were being met. After some digging, we found ThriveDesk. ”

Mohammad Zannatun Nime Support Executive, Themesgrove

![Sigmative logo](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/sigmative-logo.DGIzEm09.svg)

> “ I love ThriveDesk so much. It’s easy to use and user friendly — the best choice for anyone who wants to modernize a classic support system and get live chat built in. ”

 ![Selim Rana](https://www.thrivedesk.com/_astro/selim-rana.CQkT8t1-.jpg)Selim Rana Founder, Sigmative

Muslims Day

> “ The performance of ThriveDesk is very good, and it’s intuitive. I just tried the AI chatbot — add a few knowledge base articles and it’s answering mostly correctly. ”

Abdullah Al H. CEO, Muslims Day

Good to know

## When this isn’t the right fit

-   Your product is simple enough that customers rarely need help.
-   You don’t have time to write the first 10 to 20 articles. Start there.
-   Most questions are about a customer’s own account and need a person to look.

FAQ

## Common questions about self-service help centers

Anything else? [Talk to us](https://www.thrivedesk.com/contact/).

### What is a self-service help center?

A library of help articles where customers find answers on their own, without contacting support. It’s also called a knowledge base.

### Can I use my own domain and branding?

Yes. Host the help center on your own domain and match your logo, colors and design, so it feels like part of your product.

### How does the AI search work?

It reads your published articles and works out what the customer means, so they get the right answer even when their question isn’t worded like your content.

### Will my help articles rank on Google?

Articles are set up for search engines and for AI-generated answers, so they can bring in search traffic and answer questions before anyone opens a ticket.

### Can I embed the help center inside my app?

Yes. The embeddable widget shows your articles inside your app, so customers don’t have to leave to find an answer.

### Can I make some docs private?

Yes. Publish private docs for your team or specific audiences from the same editor as your public articles.

### Does Neo use the help center?

Yes. Neo answers questions in chat and email from your articles, so customers get the answer even if they never search.

### How do I move my help center from another platform?

We migrate your articles from Intercom, Zendesk, Help Scout and other knowledge bases. Get in touch and we’ll handle it.

## Your answers are already written down. Put them where customers look.

Start with your top 10 questions, publish them on your own domain and let Neo answer from them.

[Start free trial](https://app.thrivedesk.com/auth/register) [Book a demo](https://www.thrivedesk.com/demo/)

More use cases

## What else teams use ThriveDesk for

[See all use cases](https://www.thrivedesk.com/use-cases/)

-   ### [Ticket resolver](https://www.thrivedesk.com/use-cases/ticket-resolver/)

    Close routine tickets and hand the rest to your team with context.

-   ### [Escalation manager](https://www.thrivedesk.com/use-cases/escalation-manager/)

    Send each escalation to the team that owns the fix, with context attached.

-   ### [Reply drafter](https://www.thrivedesk.com/use-cases/reply-drafter/)

    Drafts written from your help center, so agents edit instead of starting cold.